Water-softening apparatus.



F. S.'DUNHAM. WATER SOFTENING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION PILED MAB. 2, 1910,

Patented May 30, 1911.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

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WATER SOFTENING APPARATUS.

APPLIOATIOK FILED MAB. 2, 1910. 993,6 3 Patented May 30,1911.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRANCIS S. DUNHAM, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSliGNOR TO KENNICOTT WATER- SOFTENER COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

WATER-SOFTENING APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 30, 1911 Application filed March 2, 1910. Serial No. 546,819.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Fmxcis S. Duxrmir, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Improvement in \Vater-Sottening Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to an improvement in the class of water-softening apparatus in which the water to be purified is subjected, in its course to the settling-tank ot the apparatus, to the precipitating action on mat ter in the water which renders it hard, of suitable chemical substances supplied to the water, for mixing with it, in proper proportion; and it relates, more particularly, to an improvement in the manner of auto matically supplying the chemical in the required proportion to the water to be softened.

In the accompanying drawingsl igure 1 is a broken view in sectional elevation of a known type of water-softening apparatus containing my improvement, the view presenting only so much of the apparatus as is required to enable the improvement to be readily understood, and Fig. 2 is a similar view of the apparatus showing my improvement in one of various modified forms in which it may be provided. Y

The settling-tank 3, having a discharge spout, 4 leading from it near its upper end, at the. water-level therein indicated at 5, contains a downtake-conduit 6, shown to be downwardly flaring and surrounded, below the water-level, by a screen 7. Upon rails 8 on the upper end of the tank is supported a tank 9 provided with a draw-off spout 9 'for emptying it. Above the tank 9 is the water-box 10 containing a vertical porfo ate partition 11 which divides it into the relatively smaller and larger compartments 12 and 13, this box receiving from a spout 14 the raw water to be treated. A valved spout 15 discharges the water from the compartment 12, through a relatively small opening 15 in its bottom, into the tank 9, and from a relatively large opening 16 in the bottom of the compartment 10 depends a pipe 17 into a mixing-tank 18'in the upperend portion of the conduit and which overflows into the latter. The pipe 17 extends nearly to the bottom o'f the mixing-tank, shown to be of hopper-form, and a valved spout 19, for emptying the tank, when desired, depends from a ilischarge-opcniug in the apex of the bottom. in the tank 9 is a float 20.

The parts thus described present no features of novelty, being those employed in the aforesaid known type of apparatus selected for illustrating my improvement, which, however, is applicable to any construction of water-softening apparatus in the class retcrrcd to; and those parts are the same in Fig. 1 as in Fig.2, except that in the latter. instead of a pipe 17 and mixing-tank 18, a spout 1.6 is rovidcd to discharge into a tunnel-like mixing chamber 18% dipping into tlhottank 3 through the upper end of the conul 6. i

In the arrangement shown in Fig. 1 for applying my improvement, :1 chain 21, on

one end of which the float 20 is suspended,

purification, namely lime and soda ash in the proportion of three parts of the former to one part of the latter. mixed together and moldedinto or otherwise provided in stickform of suitable dimensions. The substance of the chemical stick dissolves very readily in water.

The purpose is to proportion automatically. with desirable aecuracy,'the supply of the chemical to the quantity of water flowing into the apparatus, the flow of which is subject to variation, however, necessitating corresponding variation in the supply of the chemical, because of the change of head in the water-box. This is automatically taken care of by the float 20. The size of the opening 15 relative to that of the opening 16 is such as to feed that proportion of the water entering the box 10 to the tank 9 which is required for making the strength of chemical solution For treating the proportion of the water which enters, at the same time, into the tank 18. As the float 20, therefore, rises in the tank 0 under the accumulation For the purof water in it, the stick 24 lowers into the --mixing chamber 18, to a greater or lesser end of the tank 9 over. the funnel 18 extent of its length, in correspondence with any change of head of the water in the box 10, and that part of the stick which dips into the water in the mixing-tank is readily dis solved thereby and mixes with it, the mix ture overflowing from the tank 18 and entering the precipitating tank to act upon the water therein.

In Fig. 2 the means shown to be provided for automatically feeding the chemical are adapted for the purpose with the latter in dry and loose ,or ulverized form requiring it to be used in ia suitable tubular holder 26 which will readily disintegrate or dissolve in water, such as tissue-paper or gelatin. The holder 26 filled with the chemical mixture is supported in a metal or glass tube 27 extending horizontally from the upper The holder 26 is movable longitudinally in its support for feeding it, and so much of it as protrudes beneath the spout 16 is washed for supplying to the water to be treated therein the chemical treating-material in stick-form, comprising a tank, means for proportioning the supply to the tank of said water, a float in the tank and mechanism for engaging the stick, connected with the float to be actuated by its rise to advance said stick, for the purpose set forth. 2. In a water-softening apparatus, means water-box for receiving the supply of water 1 to be treated and having relatively larger and smaller discharge-outlets, a float-tank into which said box discharges through the smaller outlet, a mixing-chamber into which i said box discharges through the larger outlet, and means for supplying to the water entering said mixing-chamber the chemical trcatinganaterial in stick-form, comprising a float in the float-tank, and mechanism for engaging the stick, connected with the float to be actuated by its rise to advance the stick toward the mixing-chamber, for the purpose set forth.

4. In a water-softening apparatus, the combination with the settling-tank, of awaterbox for receiving the supply of water to be treated and having relatively larger and smaller discharge-oi'ltlets, a float-tank into which said box discharges through the smaller outlet, a mixing-chamber into which said box discharges through the larger outlet, and means vfor supplying to the water entering said mixing-chamber the chemical treatinganaterial in stick-form, comprising a float in the float-tank, and a pulley-supported chain having one end connected with the float and its other end hanging over the mixing-chamber for suspending from it said stick, for the purpose set forth.

FRANCIS S. DUNHAM. In presence of- CHAS. E. GAYLORD, RALPH A. SoHAnFnR. 

